Crossword Genius

Rake to stir up small leaves (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

roue

'rake' is the definition.
(both can mean an immoral man)

'stir up small leaves' is the wordplay.
'stir up' becomes 'rouse' (I've seen this before).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'leaves' suggests deleting specific letters.
'rouse' with 's' taken away is 'ROUE'.

'to' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for roue that I've seen before include "Lecherous man" , "Lecher" , "Reckless spender" , "One seeking personal gratification" , "Casanova" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app